The H&M Group aims to be a catalyst for sustainable change across the
fashion industry, which is why the Swedish fashion company has set itself
some of number of sustainability targets. "We have one of the most advanced
and ambitious sustainability goals in the industry today," confirmed Anna
Gedda, Head of Sustainability at H&M to FashionUnited at the Group's head
office in Stockholm, Sweden.

H&M has set three main goals: to become 100 percent circular and lead the
change to a sustainable fashion industry, while being a fair and equal
company. This means shifting its current business model from a linear one
to circular one, ensuring all its workers throughout its supply chain are
treated and paid fairly, while causing as little harm to the planet and
helping the industry become more sustainable overall - all very ambitious
goals. So how does the Swedish fashion company aim to achieve all this? H&M
has broken down its sustainability efforts, commitments and strategies, as
well as some of the progress it has made and shared them with the industry
and public in its 2017 Sustainability report.

"A company of our size and scale has a responsibility as well as a
great opportunity to lead the change towards a more sustainable fashion and
design industry"

Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability at H&M

While is it clear that is fashion industry needs to rethink the future of
fashion, H&M first began by looking at the challenges faced by the industry
at the moment, such as the growing population and its dependence on finite
resources. At the same time, clothing will remain a everyday neccessity and
the H&M group does not foresee the growing population to stop buying
clothes. "We know that people are always going to buy fashion, so the big
challenge for us, one we are looking to crack is how to provide all these
people with fashion in a way that is within the boundaries of the planet's
needs," noted Gedda. This is why the H&M Group is pushing the shift towards
a circular model and maximising the potential of its materials while
minimising its waste.

H&M outlines its goals for a circular fashion industry in its 2017
Sustainability Report

H&M is aware that there is no single solution to becoming circular, which
is why they are developing different strategies, such as investing in
material recycling technology, collecting old garments to be recycled and
made new collections from while upping its usage of sustainable materials.
H&M aims to only use 100 percent recycled or other sustainably sourced
materials in its collections by 2030. In 2017, 35 percent of the materials
used to make H&M's products were recycled or sourced sustainably.
"Innovation is key to solve many of the challenges the fashion industry is
facing. Especially when it comes to accelerating the shift from a linear to
a circular model," said Cecilia Brännsten, Acting Environmental
Sustainability Manager at H&M group.

"But it will not be one technology, one innovation, that will do the trick;
instead it will be several ideas, scientists and companies putting the
puzzle together, pushing the development forward. That is why we invest in
and partner with innovation companies such as re:newcell and
Treetotextile." H&M
collected 17,771 tonnes of textiles through its garment collection
initiative in 2017 for reuse and recycling and aims to collect 25,000
tonnes annually by 2020. That is equal enough fibres to create 89 million
T-shirts. H&M has collected 61,000 tonnes of textiles since 2013, which has
been reused or recycled. H&M also aims to use 100 percent sustainably
sourced cotton in its collections by 2020, which includes certified organic
cotton, Better Cotton (BCI) and recycled cotton. At the moment 59 percent
of the cotton H&M uses is sustainably sourced. The group also used recycled
polyester equal to 100 million PET bottles in its collections in 2017.

"There is an abundance of resources that we classify as waste"

Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability at H&M

"Every year we take new steps towards our bold goal to only use recycled or
other sustainably sourced materials by 2030. This significantly reduces the
use of natural resources and the negative impact our business has on the
climate," stressed Mattias Bodin, Sustainability Business Expert, Materials
& Innovation at H&M group. "It’s important to use already existing
sustainable materials but also test completely new fabrics. When it comes
to recycled materials, they are truly a win-win since they stop waste
material going to landfill and at the same time reduce the use of virgin
raw material." The Swedish fashion company also aims to achieve a climate
positive value chain by 2040, another ambitious goal. For now, H&M has
managed to reduced emissions from its own operations by 21 percent last
year by cutting down and using better energy sources. 96 percent of the H&M
Group's electricity came from renewable sources in 2017.

In order to ensure it is a 100 percent fair and equal company, the H&M
group is also working to implement better wages for its workers. 227
supplier factories, with over 375,000 workers, have implemented an improved
wage management system, which has created a dialogue between management and
workers on wage-related issues and ensure wages take skills, experience and
responsibility into consideration. As part of H&M's 2018 goal, 100 percent
of the garment factories H&M works with in Bangladesh have conducted
democratic elections of worker representatives. In total, 2,882 people were
elected to represent the workers, 40 percent of them were female.

However, the H&M Group stressed that in order to support the ongoing
development of industry-wide collective bargaining agreements and
purchasing practices supporting a fair living wage, collaboration is
needed. "Collaboration is the best way to tackle the challenges connected
to working conditions and wages within the textile industry," said Cecilia
Tiblad Berntsson, Social Sustainability Manager at H&M group. "That is why
we value the ground-breaking collaboration with 16 other global brands and
trade unions within the ACT platform. Our joint goal is to establish
mechanisms to support freedom of association and industry-wide collective
bargaining."

In addition to ensuring its products and workers are well-made and taken
care of, H&M also aims to inspire and educate its consumers on how to take
care of their garments to prolong their lifespan. In spring 2018, H&M will
pilot its new innovative concept Take Care, which encourages consumers
better care for their clothing by refreshing, remaking and repairing.